A free pop-up concert at Granville Island on Saturday (May 20) will feature four multilingual musicians. Singer-songwriter Van Lefan, DJ CHIP$, Sophie Yung, and Iris Lee will all perform in the Public Market Courtyard from noon to 4 p.m.
Jade Music Festival and CMHC – Granville Island will present the event, entitled On the Rise. It’s part of the Granville Island Music Series. Last year, the Society of We Are Canadians Too launched the Jade Music Festival with the goal of making Vancouver a North American hub for Chinese-language music.
The first artist, Lefan, will sing songs from her 2022 album, What Holds Us Together?, which featured tracks with English, Mandarin, and Taiwanese lyrics. Earlier this month, she told Pancouver that she will also perform new music from an upcoming EP. Lefan’s show begins at noon.
Next up at 1:30 p.m. is DJ CHIP$, who will perform a newly curated set from Jade Music’s playlist. The Canadian-born Filipina artist draws inspiration from music of many languages, ages, and genres. These genres include hip-hop, pop, R&B, Afrobeats, dancehall, and reggaeton. In addition to performing at many nighttime gigs, DJ CHIP$ works as a registered nurse.
Cantopop comes to Granville Island
DJ CHIP$ will be followed at 3 p.m. by Sophie Yung and Iris Lee.
The two Hong Kong-born artists enjoy singing Cantopop covers. Yung was the first runner-up in a 2022 singing contest organized by Hong Kong student associations at SFU and UBC.
Meanwhile, Lee, who was raised in Canada, integrates contemporary Western influences into popular music from where she was born.
Yung and Lee will perform individually before coming together for a duet.
Jade Music Festival and CMHC – Granville Island present On the Rise from noon to 4 p.m. in the Public Market Courtyard. Follow Pancouver on Twitter @PancouverMedia. For more information on the Jade Music Festival, visit the website.
